Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Raises Position in Abbott Laboratories $ABT

Key Points

• Confluence Wealth Services increased its Abbott Laboratories position by 25.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 44,422 shares valued at approximately $4.03 million. Institutional investors collectively own 75.18% of Abbott’s stock.
• Abbott reported quarterly EPS of $1.31 and revenue of $12.59 billion, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue grew 13% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $118.67, and the company pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend.
• Growth opportunities include continuous glucose monitoring, diagnostics and cardiovascular devices, but infant-formula litigation remains a major risk, including a roughly $670 million settlement and a separate settlement related to a $495 million verdict.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,422 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after buying an additional 9,031 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $4,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Portfolio Resources Advisor Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $118.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings raised Abbott Laboratories from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $121.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.67.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $114.16 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a twelve month low of $81.97 and a twelve month high of $137.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $197.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $99.51 and its 200 day moving average is $99.93.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.03. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.69% and a net margin of 11.65%.The business had revenue of $12.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Abbott Laboratories has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.380-1.46 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 15th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.55%.

Key Headlines Impacting Abbott Laboratories

Here are the key news stories impacting Abbott Laboratories this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Abbott’s Instinct continuous glucose sensor is now integrated into MiniMed’s Flex automated insulin-delivery system, which is commercially shipping in the United States. The partnership expands Abbott’s presence in the growing continuous glucose-monitoring and diabetes-care markets. MiniMed Ships MiniMed Flex With Abbott’s Smallest Instinct Sensor
• Positive Sentiment: Abbott entered a multiyear agreement with HealthTab to supply Afinion 2 analyzers for point-of-care HbA1c and lipid testing in UK pharmacies, supporting the Diagnostics segment and potential NHS-linked distribution. HealthTab Enters Multi-Year Collaboration Agreement with Abbott
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to identify electrophysiology, continuous glucose-monitoring adoption and Abbott’s cardiovascular pipeline as important long-term growth drivers for the Medical Devices business. Abbott’s Medical Devices Growth Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary remains broadly constructive on Abbott’s long-term outlook, although one analysis characterized the stock as reasonably valued after its recent advance while another recommended a more cautious stance. This suggests valuation could limit near-term upside despite favorable operating trends.
• Negative Sentiment: Abbott agreed to pay approximately $670 million to resolve the Gill case and claims involving about 2,000 individuals concerning specialty formulas for premature infants. Although the company maintains that the products are safe and denies reliable evidence linking them to necrotizing enterocolitis, the settlement creates a substantial financial cost and keeps litigation risk in focus. Abbott Agrees to $670 Million Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: The company also settled an appeal related to a separate $495 million infant-formula verdict, reinforcing investor concerns about potential legal expenses and liabilities in the Nutrition business. Abbott Settles Appeal Over $495 Million Infant Formula Verdict

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.

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